So in this sense, resistance isn’t a sort of means, but more like a purpose?

Yes, at least in today’s context.

So, in this way, marijuana is merely an excuse?

Yes, absolutely.

——dialogue with Shi Jiepeng, doctor of anthropology from Harvard

B、

Why these years you don’t leaf through new books, especially the theoretical ones?

I have zero tolerance of starting a study of a new problem without a thorough understanding of the previous one. Such kind of incessant thinking in circle won’t happen on me, because if I have just latched onto a new problem, it will be unlikely for me to push myself into the savvy of another.

How do you adjust to the new environment without socking up new knowledge as China is developing so rapidly in the past 3 decades?

In order to maintain a clear self-recognition, one must look for references in life without a stop. That is a key job. Only when you have a clear vision of the references you take, can you realize where you are and what you do. All these references come from the various new knowledge and practice from the contemporary western and eastern world, as well as the experience and lessons from the history. What is puzzling is that in the process of searching references, did we once see through them? Every time was like, we hadn’t sort things out, and still were at the very beginning of the stage to delve deeply into the real problem, but due to this or that tricky reasons, we finally found that the problem was of a set of difficulties and complicity, thus a new problem would spring up in our mind as a troubleshooter to cover up the previous one. In such sense, those unsettled misunderstandings continued to grow more and more, and then there emerged a new flock of unsolvable problems, which directly led to the fact that we were at the end of our wits to interpret the problems brought about by the previous misunderstandings and it was common for us to forget the need to search for the references

Is this exactly a kind of mixed illusion?

They belong to the same group of illusions, though large in quantity.

Then how do you define ‘mixed’?

The prerequisite of the mixed property lies in the differences of self-definition, out of a variety of spontaneous choices by ourselves. Or we could say, mixed property is based on the subjectivity of human beings. No subjectivity, no mixed property. It has nothing to do with so called new or old. The pursuit of new pattern and materials is nothing other than an alienation performance controlled by the landscape.

The only hallow issue that could be manufactured is academic landscape. Each term has an equal value in the rhetoric. From the perspective of value, to choose or not to choose shouldn’t be a question. Nevertheless, these terms themselves are in accord with certain facts, or certain solutions. It is of logical relations beyond the lines. Indeed, terms are all futile and what is important is the facts behind them. Therefore, there is an absurd slogan all the rage in the sociological circle, ‘Let sociology return to the society.’

The art world really needs the voice ‘Let sociology return to the society’?

Aesthetics is meant to be an emotional judgement with interest. Beauty is merely a narrow zone in the aesthetic field. The return to the emotional judgement without interest is definitely a goal for art, as it is dependent on physical perception. Aesthetics is the greatest common divisor, a consensus most easily achieved among divergent political and ethnic groups. It is the bottom line of all the social activities involved. The moment art comes back to aesthetics is the very time for art to display itself.

——dialogue with artist Xu Ran

D、

Drama isn’t a form of illusion?

Drama is a form of ritual, a progressive life and logical thinking undergone in an assumption. Though both in the assumption, the two different concepts of drama, one is a performance ritual produced by a format, and the other is a sort of review ritual created by the instantaneous emotions and feelings between audiences and show performers in the same space. The former produces illusion, while, the latter, facts.

What kind of facts you want to brew?

I have no idea of what kind of facts each drama practice could brew, because of the uncertainties in time and people. The only hope I bear is to create a new perspective, from another latitude to look at the world through this process. I want to take a close look at and dug deeper into many things which are ignored and taken for granted in our daily life after placing them in a certain prescribed context. Under the assumed time and space, we leave behind the usual practice of experience, and start to reinterpret the world from the simplest things like an ignorant man, which might be resistant to different illusions brought by those second-hand experience and theories, regulations and rules, promotions and propaganda, as well as various landscapes.

So, back to the bottom line?

Yes, back to the starting point, an assumption is used to review those theories and practice that have influenced us.

Don’t you think the assumption looks alike with marijuana?

Perhaps, some people regard marijuana as a kind of ritual in the daily life. Such kind of ritualization might be a matter of common practice of excuse given for the resistance towards the illusion.